Managing People: Learning to Lead

Published December 27, 2023

1

Drucker’s Wisdom

I am often asked, “How can I excel as a manager?” Responding to this has always been challenging for me, and here’s why: In my early days at IndiaWorld and Netcore, I led a small team and, candidly, I had much to learn. Furthermore, over the past 15 years at Netcore, I’ve been without direct reports, with professional CEOs spearheading the organisation. To address this query, I delved into the insights and experiences of others, aiming to craft a guide that could benefit aspiring managers. In this first of two essays, I’ll explore the transformation from managers to true leaders of people. The subsequent piece will delve into personal growth, emphasising how one can achieve peak performance in a professional setting.

One of the best places to begin is by understanding Peter Drucker’s theory of management. Business News Daily writes: “At the core of Drucker’s management theory lie the concepts of decentralization, knowledge work (in fact, he coined the term “knowledge worker”), management by objectives (MBO), and the SMART goal method.”

• Decentralization means that managers should empower employees by delegating tasks.
• MBO involves superiors and their subordinates working together to set common goals, identify employees’ areas of expertise and define measurable expected results.
• The SMART method means that those goals need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-specific and recorded.

Toolshero adds about MBO:

• Objectives are determined with the employees or team members;
• Objectives are formulated at both quantitative and qualitative levels;
• Objectives must be challenging and motivating;
• Daily feedback on the state of affairs and key results at the level of coaching and development instead of static management reports;
• Rewards (recognition, appreciation and/or performance-related pay) for achieving the intended objectives is a requirement;
• The basic principle is growth and development not punishments.

Lattice writes on SMART:

• Specific: Does the goal have specific means and ends?
• Measurable: Can the goal be measured? How?
• Actionable/Achievable: What are the specific actions that will lead to this goal? What do you need to do to accomplish it?
• Relevant/Realistic: Is this goal relevant to your job duties, team, and company? Is it based on factors that are under your control?
• Time-bound: What is the time period? Does it depend on a deadline or target date, or is it on a regular schedule?

ChatGPT provides an overview of Drucker’s ideas on managing people:

Here are some of Drucker’s views on managing others:

• Management by Objectives (MBO): Drucker introduced the concept of MBO, which emphasizes setting clear, mutually agreed-upon objectives for employees and then monitoring their performance against these objectives. This approach promotes clarity, motivation, and alignment with organizational goals.
• The Human Factor: Drucker believed that workers are not mere assets; they are human beings. He emphasized the importance of treating employees with respect and dignity. He argued that productivity improves when managers treat workers as resources rather than costs.
• Strengths Over Weaknesses: Drucker advised managers to focus on leveraging the strengths of their employees rather than obsessing over their weaknesses. He believed that effective managers build on the strengths of their team members and strive to make their weaknesses irrelevant.
• Knowledge Workers: Drucker identified the rise of the “knowledge worker” and emphasized that managing such workers, who know more about their jobs than their managers do, requires a different approach. He believed that knowledge workers need autonomy and should be judged by their output and contributions rather than the hours they work.
• Continuous Learning and Development: Drucker stressed the importance of continuous learning and self-development for both managers and their teams. He believed that in the knowledge economy, continuous learning is crucial for organizational success.
• Listening Actively: Drucker highlighted the importance of active listening for managers. He believed that effective communication begins with listening and understanding the perspectives of others.
• Decentralization and Simplification: Drucker was an advocate for decentralizing decision-making to empower more employees and simplify processes. He believed that this approach leads to more innovation and faster decision-making.
• Results-Oriented Approach: Drucker emphasized that managers should focus on outcomes and results rather than just tasks and activities. He believed that what gets measured gets managed, and thus, managers should prioritize tracking and evaluating outcomes.
• The Right People in the Right Jobs: Drucker believed in placing people where they can make the greatest contribution. He argued that it’s the manager’s responsibility to ensure team members are positioned to leverage their strengths.
• Innovation and Change: Drucker viewed innovation and change as essential components of effective management. He believed that managers should be proactive in driving innovation and adapting to change.

With this background on managing others, we will focus on four aspects of managing others:

• As a leader: set a clear vision and strategy aligned with the organisation’s goals, and inspire trust and credibility
• As a manager of people: how to bring out the best in every individual, including hiring and coaching
• As head of a team: how to make the individuals work together in cohesion, and handle conflict resolution
• As a peer: how to collaborate with other functional leaders

2

As A Leader

Adam Bryant writes in his book, “The Leap to Leader”, about the transition to a leadership mindset: “It is a realization that you are fully accountable, that you must grapple with the hardest decisions, and that you need to let go of doing the work that earned you promotion after promotion earlier in your career. It means writing the playbook for your job, rather than running the playbook that your bosses hand you. It means imagining what could and should be, rather than delivering on expected outcomes. It is about understanding that leadership is not a popularity contest, and that earning people’s respect matters more than having them like you. It means setting a compass for a new direction and letting others create the road map for executing the plan. It means unlocking the potential in people that they may not even see for themselves. It is about giving credit to others and taking blame when things go wrong. It means always doing what is best for the organization, even if that requires letting go of valued colleagues. It is about having the courage to take a stand, even if it costs you your job. It means thinking first about what you can do for people, rather than what they can do for you. It is about building other leaders, not just followers.”

Every manager has to be a leader. The transition from being an individual contributor (IC) to leading others is not an easy one. As an IC, one is given instructions on what’s to be done. As a manager, one has to set the objectives for others. It is less about doing work oneself, and more about getting work done through others.

This shift in roles brings about a profound change in perspective and responsibilities. While individual contributors often focus on the technical aspects of their tasks, managers must zoom out to see the bigger picture. They need to understand not just the ‘how’ but also the ‘why’ behind every task and project. This broader perspective is essential for setting the right direction for the team and ensuring alignment with the organisation’s overarching goals.

Moreover, leadership is about influence, not authority. It’s about inspiring and motivating team members to achieve their best, rather than merely directing them. This requires a deep understanding of human psychology and dynamics. Every individual on a team comes with their own set of strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and aspirations. A successful leader recognises these nuances and tailors their approach to resonate with each team member. This personalised approach not only boosts morale but also enhances productivity and commitment.

Adam Bryant explains this difference well: “Managers typically fall into one of two camps. First, there are those who think primarily about what their teams can do for them and how they can help advance their own career. They are the bosses who hoard talent and see people through a lens of whether they are useful to their own personal ambitions and needs… Second, there are managers who are more selfless. Their default interest is how they can help their team, and they see themselves as a coach whose job is to develop the talents and skills of people who work for them. They see career trajectories and possibilities for their direct reports that those employees may not even see for themselves. Rather than hoarding talent, selfless managers encourage people on their teams to explore new opportunities.” So, good managers are selfless, and not self-centred.

Another critical aspect of leadership is communication. While an IC might often work in silos, a manager must ensure open, transparent, and consistent communication. This involves articulating the vision, setting clear expectations, providing feedback, and, most importantly, listening. Active listening helps leaders understand the concerns, ideas, and feedback from their team, fostering a two-way communication channel that encourages innovation and continuous improvement.

Furthermore, trust is the bedrock of effective leadership. As a manager, it’s crucial to build and maintain trust with your team. This involves being reliable, consistent, and honest in all interactions. It also means trusting your team in return, delegating tasks, and giving them the autonomy to make decisions. This mutual trust creates an environment where team members feel valued, leading to higher engagement and loyalty.

Adam suggests a few questions as prompts for leaders to open up with their teams:

• What about your upbringing shapes how you lead today?
• What are some honest, unfiltered things about you?
• What drives you nuts? What are your quirks?
• How can people earn an extra gold star from you?
• What might people misunderstand about you?
• What’s the best way to communicate with you?
• What strength of yours can also be a weakness or problematic in certain contexts?

Decision-making is another area where the role of a manager diverges significantly from that of an IC. While individual contributors often focus on executing decisions, managers are responsible for making those decisions. This requires a delicate balance of analysis, intuition, and consultation. Every decision has consequences, and it’s the leader’s responsibility to weigh the pros and cons, consider the long-term implications, and make choices that benefit the team and the organization.

In conclusion, while the transition from an individual contributor to a leader can be challenging, it’s also immensely rewarding. It offers an opportunity to make a more significant impact, shape the direction of the team, and contribute to the organisation’s success in a meaningful way. Embracing the nuances of leadership and continuously striving for growth are the keys to thriving in this role.

3

As a People Manager – 1

In both business and sports, teams are pivotal. Yet, before these teams can synergise to become greater than the mere sum of their components, they consist of distinct individuals. A captain or coach must deeply understand each team member and mentor them towards realising their utmost potential. Only with this foundation can victory be achieved.

Here are a few suggestions on how managers can build better relationships with the individuals in their team.

Understanding Individuality within a Team: Every team member brings a unique set of skills, experiences, and perspectives to the table. As a people manager, it’s essential to recognise and appreciate these differences. By doing so, you can tailor your management approach to resonate with each individual, ensuring that they feel valued and understood.

The Power of Personalised Feedback: Generic feedback often falls on deaf ears. However, when feedback is personalised and constructive, it can be a powerful tool for growth. By understanding each team member’s strengths and areas for improvement, a manager can provide insights that drive personal and professional development.

Empowerment and Autonomy: While guidance is essential, it’s equally important to give team members the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their roles. Empowering individuals boosts their confidence and encourages them to take initiative, leading to increased innovation and productivity.

Balancing Authority and Approachability: Navigating the delicate balance between authority and approachability is one of the quintessential challenges faced by managers. On one hand, establishing authority is crucial to ensure that directives are followed, decisions are respected, and the team maintains a sense of structure and discipline. It underscores the manager’s role as a decision-maker and a guiding force. On the other hand, approachability is equally vital. An approachable manager fosters an environment where team members feel valued, heard, and comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns, and feedback. It creates a two-way communication channel, promoting transparency and trust. Striking the right balance means that while team members respect the manager’s decisions, they also feel empowered to voice their opinions without fear of retribution.

Continuous Learning and Growth: The business landscape is ever-evolving, and so are the skills and knowledge required to thrive within it. Encouraging continuous learning and providing opportunities for professional development ensures that team members stay updated and relevant in their roles. Managers should work with each of their reports to charting out a learning plan for the next 1-2 quarters.

Building Strong Relationships: Beyond the professional realm, taking the time to build genuine relationships with each of the team members can have profound effects. Understanding their motivations, challenges, and aspirations on a personal level allows for a deeper connection, fostering loyalty and commitment.

Claire Hughes Johnson, in her book “Scaling People”, has a checklist for managing individuals:

• Hold regular 1:1s on a weekly or biweekly cadence, and they are rarely rescheduled.
• Create agendas for your 1:1s that include contributions from both sides, notes, and agreed-upon actions.
• Have quarterly goals that you track together.
• Hold bidirectional feedback sessions with your reports every three to six months.
• Hold more formal performance conversations every 3, 6, or 12 months (the more rapidly your company is changing, the more often these should occur) that emphasize both the results the person achieved (or didn’t) and how the person did or did not achieve those results.

Writing up a document on what it is like to work you and your management style is a good idea. As Claire puts in, “It really sets the tone for my working relationships. It was a good reminder that sharing what gets you up in the morning on a personal level can be as important as the mechanics of working together.”

4

As a People Manager – 2

Hiring

One of the most important responsibilities a manager has is recruiting talent. Claire Hughes Johnson offers suggestions on the interview process:

• Have a clear job description.
• Determine who will conduct the interviews.
• Seek to have candidates only meet a maximum of eight people in the process. Studies at Google have demonstrated diminishing returns for additional interviews. If the role is more entry-level and very well understood, this could be reduced to four or five people.
• Make sure your interviewers are trained on effective interviewing.
• Share your assessment rubric with all interviewers and assign one or two elements of the rubric to each interviewer to avoid overlap.
• For more custom or infrequently filled roles, have a kickoff meeting in which everyone gets aligned on the role, the rubric, and their part in the process.
• Potentially, have a first round of three interviews to narrow the field before you ask the entire interview panel to participate. Then, have the remaining three interviewers meet the finalists—ideally, at least three candidates—in a final round.
• Conduct a hiring committee or candidate review process to finalize your selection.
• Have the recruiter and hiring manager check the candidate’s references.
• Make the offer. Hopefully, the candidate will accept—then you can set a start date and send them onboarding information!

Here are a few questions she suggests:

• Tell me about a time you worked on something that you knew you wouldn’t enjoy but which was necessary for the success of your team or company.
• When have you felt most connected to your coworkers? Tell me about a time when that connection was tested and how you adapted.
• What project are you most proud of? What was your contribution?
• Tell me about a project you’ve led that failed. What role did you play in the project’s failure? What did you learn? What would you do differently if given the chance to do it over?
• Work can be challenging, and we know it’s not the only thing on your mind. How do you approach balancing competing demands for your attention?
• What’s the best example of something in your current job that you don’t like?
• Tell me about the best leader you’ve worked for.

Onboarding

One of the most pivotal responsibilities of a manager is ensuring that new joinees transition smoothly into the organisation. Just as a warm welcome can set the tone for a lasting relationship, the initial experiences of a new employee can significantly influence their perception of the company and their role within it. Drawing parallels from other sectors, consider how companies meticulously design onboarding processes for customers, ensuring they feel valued right from the outset. Similarly, universities invest considerable effort in organising orientation programs for incoming students, aiming to acclimate them to a new phase of academic life.

In the corporate realm, an onboarding plan serves a similar purpose. It’s not just about administrative tasks and initial training; it’s about immersing the new joinee in the company’s ethos. This involves introducing them to the company’s products, services, and most importantly, its culture. By understanding the company’s values, mission, and vision, new employees can align their efforts with broader organizational goals.

Furthermore, integrating new joinees into the team is crucial. Building relationships with colleagues, understanding team dynamics, and establishing communication channels are all essential components of this process. A well-structured onboarding plan also familiarises them with the working environment, tools, and processes, ensuring they can operate efficiently from the get-go.

In essence, effective onboarding is akin to laying a strong foundation for a building. When done right, it ensures that new employees not only adapt quickly but also feel a sense of belonging and purpose, paving the way for long-term engagement and productivity.

5

As a Team Leader – 1

The single biggest responsibility for a manager is to fashion the people being led into an effective team, which can deliver on the expected outcomes. This task, while monumental, is the linchpin of organisational success. Many years ago, I had read Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” Presented as a compelling leadership fable, the book provides insights into the pitfalls that hinder team success and offers remedies to overcome them.

Here is a summary from ChatGPT:

1. Absence of Trust:
   • Description: Team members are reluctant to be vulnerable with one another, leading to a lack of openness and honesty.
   • Recommendation: Build trust by encouraging vulnerability among team members. This can be achieved through team-building exercises, open discussions, and creating an environment where mistakes and weaknesses can be openly shared without fear of retribution.
2. Fear of Conflict:
   • Description: Teams avoid engaging in passionate and constructive debates, leading to artificial harmony.
   • Recommendation: Foster an environment where differing opinions are encouraged and valued. Managers should set the tone by engaging in constructive conflict themselves and mediating team discussions to ensure they remain productive and respectful.
3. Lack of Commitment:
   • Description: Without clear direction or buy-in from all team members, there’s ambiguity and a lack of clear decision-making.
   • Recommendation: Ensure clarity and buy-in by making decisions collectively and clearly communicating those decisions. Even if there’s not complete agreement, understanding the rationale behind decisions can help team members commit to them.
4. Avoidance of Accountability:
   • Description: Team members avoid holding one another accountable for their actions and performance, leading to lowered standards.
   • Recommendation: Foster a culture of peer accountability. This can be achieved by setting clear expectations, regularly reviewing performance against those expectations, and creating an environment where team members feel responsible for one another’s success.
5. Inattention to Results:
   • Description: The team doesn’t focus on collective results, leading to individualistic behavior and a lack of alignment with organizational goals.
   • Recommendation: Establish a shared vision and clear objectives for the team. Regularly review progress towards these goals and celebrate collective successes. Ensure that individual performance metrics align with team and organizational objectives.

The graphic from OMT Global summarises the key ideas:

6

As a Team Leader – 2

Claire Hughes Johnson has three (among many) ideas I liked for what she calls “intentional team development”: structure, skills, and delegating.

On structure: “Sometimes you need to form a team with a lasting mission and goals. Other times you’ll want to create a task-oriented project or working group that can dissolve after the task is completed or the goal achieved. The primary difference is that a team works on a collection of persistent jobs to be done, whereas a task-oriented project or working group addresses a temporary, circumscribed action or mission to accomplish…Before implementing any type of organizing construct, take a step back and ask yourself:

• What are the objectives of this group?
• What skills need to be included?
• How long will the group need to last?

… The worst thing you can do is let a temporary structure persist for too long. This causes two problems. First, you will not have invested at the right level for that structure to be successful. Second, the structure’s persistence will be confusing to permanent teams, which should hold the primary scope and accountability for work that must be persistently done.”

On the skill-will matrix: “For a high-functioning team to exceed the sum of its parts, you first need to assess whether the team as a whole is capable of achieving that state. If not, concentrate on each member individually and identify any changes you might need to make. For these assessments, I like to apply the skill-will matrix created by longtime executive coach Max Landsberg to evaluate a person’s ability to accomplish a specific task:

On delegating: “Delegating takes two forms. First is general work assignment: The team member has a job to do and needs to understand the core functions of that job. Do they understand their day-to-day responsibilities, goals, and how they will be measured and assessed? This is something you should automatically cover in 1:1s. Second is a one-off assignment that might not neatly fit into the day-to-day work but that you or someone on your team needs to accomplish….Managers who under-delegate are often also folks who might be called micromanagers. They are over-involved in everything the team does, and they demand to be included in almost all of the team’s work or to review the work before it’s seen by anyone outside the division…Managers who over-delegate are very good at making employees feel empowered and trusted, but they get too far removed from the work and don’t recognize when an employee is in over their head. They may also give employees work that they’re not ready for, and they don’t demand high quality from their reports.”

[Claire has a set of publicly available workbooks.]

**

One element that is becoming increasingly important in modern workplaces is the role of the manager as a coach. A manager-coach focuses on nurturing and developing their team members, guiding them towards realising their full potential. This involves providing constructive feedback, setting clear growth paths, and fostering an environment of continuous learning. By adopting a coaching mindset, managers empower their team members to take ownership of their roles, encouraging proactive problem-solving and innovation. This not only boosts individual performance but also strengthens the team’s overall capability, fostering a culture of collaboration, growth, and excellence.

7

As a Team Leader – 3

For leaders, attending meetings often ranks among the most time-intensive responsibilities. It’s alarmingly easy to conduct ineffective meetings: lacking a clear agenda, failing to draw conclusions, inviting an excessive number of participants, allowing them to drag on, and the list goes on. So, how can a team leader ensure meetings are productive and purposeful?

Here are 10 suggestions on doing meetings right.

• Set a Clear Agenda: Before the meeting, distribute a clear and concise agenda outlining the topics to be discussed. This helps participants come prepared and keeps the meeting focused.
• Invite Relevant Participants: Only include individuals who are directly involved in the topics at hand. This ensures that discussions are pertinent and decisions can be made efficiently.
• Start and End on Time: Respect participants’ time by beginning promptly and adhering to the scheduled end time. This sets a professional tone and encourages punctuality.
• Designate a Facilitator: Appoint someone to guide the discussion, ensuring that the meeting stays on track and that all agenda items are covered.
• Encourage Participation: Create an environment where all attendees feel comfortable sharing their insights and feedback. This can lead to more comprehensive discussions and better decision-making.
• Stay on Topic: Avoid veering off into unrelated subjects. If new topics arise that aren’t on the agenda, note them down for future discussion.
• Set Time Limits: Allocate specific time slots for each agenda item to ensure that all topics receive adequate attention and the meeting doesn’t overrun.
• Conclude with Action Items: End the meeting by summarizing key decisions made and assigning action items. Clearly state who is responsible for each task and set deadlines.
• Document and Distribute Minutes: After the meeting, promptly send out minutes that detail the discussions held, decisions made, and action items assigned. This serves as a reference and ensures accountability.
• Regularly Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness: Periodically gather feedback on the effectiveness of meetings and make necessary adjustments. This continuous evaluation ensures that meetings remain productive and valuable over time.

Here are some additional ideas:

Amazon’s Six-Page Memo Format: “Instead of using PowerPoint, Amazon executives sit around a table and read six-page memos in silence. This strategy allows a company’s executives to discuss the idea and review the details after reading the memo. The best ideas should move forward for consideration. Bad ideas should be quickly eliminated… There are multiple ways to approach writing six-page memos. For example, your group could delegate sections of the memo to different team members to write. Or you could have only one or two people write the first draft of the memo and then expand on the details by reading the memo as a group. You can write a six-page memo about a specific idea or to cover a specific period of time. For example, you could write a six-page memo to outline the current state of a business, the historical data from the last period, the goals for this period and how an executive plans on achieving the goals.” A related idea is to write a “backward press release…An internal press release allows a team or an individual to write about all of the great things that their idea will generate.” [Brittain Ladd]

15-minute meetings: “[It] is the fastest-growing block of time that workers and bosses are scheduling, according to an analysis of Microsoft Teams data, which also shows people are booking fewer hourlong meetings. Fifteen-minute meetings now make up 60% of calendared gatherings, proving that executives and employees alike have grown more ruthless with their time…Keep the circle tight: Having too many people in the meeting wastes everyone else’s time. Stay on topic: Focus on one aspect of a budget rather than the entire spreadsheet, or debate specific attributes of two potential hires, rather than rehash the latest round of interviews. Read up: Send around reading materials ahead of the meeting, otherwise known as “pre-work,” so participants can come prepared, says [Brian] Elliott. Stack them: Schedule 15-minute meetings to maximize your time, says copywriter Ashley Laabs. Three 15-minute meetings, one after the other, often work better than having them sprinkled through the day…Rahim Charania, managing partner of a real-estate investment firm, tells his staff that meetings must fit a ‘What-Why-What’ rubric. Three questions must be answered before somebody schedules a meeting: What are the issues being discussed? Why do we need a meeting? What would be the best outcome? The 15-minute block is the standard time allotted, Charania says, and meetings rarely run over: “It forces everyone to do the majority of their thinking before the meeting.”” [Wall Street Journal]

Question Jam sessions: “Polls, quizzes, and Q&A sessions aren’t designed to foster the one-on-one connections among meeting participants that studies show are vital if people are to feel their time together is meaningful. Presentations…are by definition one-way.” The alternative: a question jam session.

…[Jamming] is something you do to create the energy and feeling of belonging that’s needed for everything else to work. To solve problems no one can solve alone, we must build on one another’s experiences and insights—and the best way to do that is to ensure that everyone’s unique perspectives are brought into play before the groupthink kicks in.” [Pia Lauritzen]

8

As a Peer

A key responsibility as a manager is to connect with other cross-functional peers to get things done. No team is an island, and the manager often serves as the vital link in the chain of command and execution. This role, while pivotal, requires a nuanced understanding of collaboration, negotiation, and mutual respect.

The Interconnectedness of Teams: In today’s complex organisational structures, teams rarely operate in isolation. Projects often span multiple departments, each bringing its expertise to the table. While individual teams might have their specific goals, they are all interconnected pieces of a larger organizational puzzle. As such, managers must recognise the importance of these inter-team relationships and actively foster them.

Building Bridges, Not Walls: A successful manager-as-peer doesn’t just communicate with other teams; they build bridges. This involves understanding the goals, challenges, and priorities of other departments. By establishing open channels of communication and regularly checking in with peers, managers can ensure that their teams are aligned with the broader organisational objectives.

Negotiation and Compromise: Collaboration often requires negotiation. Different teams might have competing priorities, limited resources, or differing views on how to approach a problem. As the link between teams, managers must hone their negotiation skills, striving for solutions that benefit the organization as a whole while respecting the needs and constraints of individual teams.

Mutual Respect and Trust: Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship, and peer relationships in an organization are no exception. Managers must cultivate mutual respect with their counterparts in other departments. This involves honouring commitments, being transparent about challenges, and acknowledging the contributions of other teams. When trust is established, collaboration becomes smoother, and potential conflicts can be more easily resolved.

Leveraging Diverse Strengths: Different teams bring different strengths to the table. A manager who understands and leverages these diverse strengths can drive projects to success. This might involve tapping into the marketing team’s expertise for a product launch or collaborating with the finance team to set budgets. Recognizing and utilizing the unique skills of each department ensures a holistic approach to problem-solving.

Celebrating Collective Successes: While individual team achievements (and celebrations) are essential, it’s equally important to celebrate collective successes. When multiple teams collaborate on a project and achieve their goals, it’s a testament to the power of cross-functional collaboration. Recognising and celebrating these joint achievements fosters a sense of unity and encourages teams to continue working together harmoniously.

While the role of a manager within their team is crucial, their role as a peer in the larger organisational context is equally significant. By fostering strong, collaborative relationships with peers from other departments, managers can drive their teams and the organization towards collective success.

9

Leap to Leader

The “leap to leader” begins with successfully managing a team. Ascending the corporate ladder isn’t solely about personal achievements; it’s intrinsically tied to showcasing the capability to elevate others. The most effective path to promotions and recognition lies in consistently demonstrating one’s ability to harness the collective strengths of a team, guiding them towards shared goals. Here are a few suggestions from Adam Bryant:

Build a Wide Base: “Focus on broadening your skills and experience…Of all the most familiar career metaphors—ladders and obstacle courses are probably the two most popular—my favorite is the pyramid. A wide base will create a more stable foundation and provide you with more job security because you will have more options. And at the risk of overworking the metaphor, pyramids are also still relatively wide even near the peak, meaning you will have more options to move into a very senior position at the top of the organization.”

Don’t Chase the Next Job: “It may seem like a paradox, but the best way to get promoted is to focus on the job you have and to do it really well…Do the job you’ve been given really well by quickly mastering what’s expected of you, and then start working on how you can transform the job—to reimagine what could be rather than just focusing on what is. That is what leaders do, and you need to build a track record of transformation in every role you have so that people will gain confidence that you will have similar success on bigger stages.”

Perfect Your Do-to-Say Ratio: “One of the easiest ways to set yourself apart is to build a reputation for reliability and follow-through—somebody who always does what they say they are going to do…If people see you as reliable, as a person who always delivers, that will set you apart as trustworthy and a team player who understands that everybody relies on each other to get work done. Reliability builds trust, which leads to promotions and greater responsibilities.”

Build a Network without Networking: “In the same way that you need to create a wide base as a foundation for your career, you need to prioritize building your network of business relationships… Whenever you are about to meet somebody for the first time, take a minute to do a quick scan of their LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, and their Twitter and Instagram feeds. There’s a good chance that you will find some point of connection that will help turbocharge the relationship.”

Mentors and Sponsors: “Start small. Maybe there’s a person you want to reach out to and add to your network. Ask them for their advice on a specific question. Then act on their advice and follow up with them… You can find mentors anywhere. And you should look for people with backgrounds that are different from yours because you’re more likely to learn from them… Sponsors are different from mentors. They are the people who are going to go to bat for you in meetings, who will say, “We should give them a shot.” They will vouch for you, and they are willing to spend some political capital because they have decided you are worth betting on, and they are confident enough in your ongoing success that they see little risk in vouching for you.”

Don’t Ignore Your Peers: “If you don’t spend time building those connections, they might hold you back and undermine you in ways that you may not always know about. If you do invest in those relationships and show people that you are genuinely trying to help them and care more about the team’s overall success than your particular part of the business, then they are more likely to nominate you to lead the team someday.”

Managing Your Boss: “Of all the relationships you have at work, the single most important one is with your boss… The first thing you need to do is master your own job—to do it well and quickly so that you can then free up energy to explore ways to transform the job and do more than is expected… By figuring out how to do your job faster, you will not only free up time to spend on building relationships across the organization, but also create more bandwidth so that you can go to your boss to take something off their plate and bring it back better. Doing that work will help you better understand what really matters to the most senior leaders.”

**

Navigating the intricacies of managing and leading others is both a challenging and rewarding journey. While it offers a dynamic and fulfilling experience, its true efficacy comes from introspection and self-management. Mastery over oneself lays the foundation for effective leadership. In my next essay, we will explore the art of self-management as the cornerstone of impactful leadership.